


Coming Home

by kuhekabir



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Angst, Angst and Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-09
Updated: 2012-05-19
Packaged: 2017-11-05 01:45:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/401101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuhekabir/pseuds/kuhekabir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of out loosing everything, Loki finds a new fascination: sheep. Em…Tony Stark. And Tony? Tony is intrigued. Puzzles always make him want to break them apart until he knows exactly what makes them tick and Loki isn’t any different. Together they’ll either reshape the world or break it apart. What will it be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are lot of first times for me recently and this is yet another one. My first attempt at fanfic in this fandom. Hopefully, you'll like it.
> 
> WARNING: I have seen the new Avengers movie. This movie is set right after. I am not aiming for spoilers but there will most certainly be a few of them since they can't be avoided! Consider yourself warned!

The longer Tony stared at the glistering thing in his hand, the more he figured he was caught in a dream or a hallucination. Maybe his arc reactor was malfunctioning causing him to see things which weren’t there? Had he been drinking without remembering? _Errr…no_ , he decided, _not today anyway._

He resisted the urge to rub at his eyes or to bang his head against the wall but staring hadn’t gotten him anywhere so far so maybe, he should actually do what he was good at: investigate, research…figure things out, use his head for more than natural beauty.

“Tony?”

Swiftly he pocketed the gem, stuffing it into his trousers. “Yes?” he asked, turning around to face Pepper.

“The repair crew is here…”

“Sure, sure…” Tony mumbled, feeling as if the tiny, priceless thing was burning a hole in his pocket, setting his skin afire while he tried to be nonchalant about it. He snatched the piece of paper it had been wrapped in, stuffing it into his pockets too before following Pepper into the elevator. Thankfully, she was so used to his strange behaviour that she wasn’t even batting an eye lash at him now.

Shelling out a fortune guaranteed the necessary repairs were going to be completed within 24 hours but until then, he had to vacate the premises. And it still galled him how Loki had used his own tower against him, the audacity of the man…god…alien…menace…his brain stuttered to a halt.

Thankfully, there was still his family’s house in lower Manhattan he could use. It wasn’t state of the art, not any more, but it came equipped with a lab and this was really all he needed.

“You’ve got that look.”

“What look?” Tony queried, tilting his head sideways.

“The look which tells me that I can either have dinner with a ghost or you’ll hide yourself away in your lab, never to be seen again until you nearly faint with hunger…”

“Err…”

“Don’t worry,” Pepper quickly reassured him. “We’ll do dinner when you’re mind is actually with me. Besides, Bruce’s going to be good company, I’m sure.”

It honestly was impressive how quickly rescue workers and city employees had cleared away most of the debris. Sure, some signs were harder to mask, like the crumbled buildings where the aliens had crashed into them but otherwise, it was almost business as usual.

It was awe inspiring, really.

He didn’t regret offering Bruce a place to stay. To say he was intrigued by the Hulk would be an understatement and he considered it a bonus that Bruce Banner in his human form was equally interesting. Finally someone who spoke the same kind of English as he did!

Once they exited the elevator, a car was waiting for them outside, ready to take them to Tony’s second home. Pepper knew better than to try and make small talk with him while his thoughts were elsewhere and since she was always very efficient, she spent the time talking business on her phone. What he would do without her, he didn’t know. The drive didn’t take long and he was out of the car and up the stairs in no time at all. Contrary to the old exterior, the former key lock had been exchange with a fancy key pad and an eye scanner. You could never be too careful. Only a select few had access to his home, even if he only used it rarely, and the select group of people had only been recently extended to Bruce. Otherwise, how would the Hulk be able to come and go if he didn’t have access? It would be easier once Tony’s tower was back in business because then his new friend could have his own floor including his own lab…money really was of no concern to him. He had more than enough and if recent events had taught him anything, then he wasn’t going to be able to take it with him either. So why not spend it? And for once, he wasn’t spending it on useless art which only Pepper appreciated anyway or on expensive cars. Unlike him, Bruce actually wanted to make the world a better place.

Well, this whole caring about the world in general was still fairly new to him. _Merchant of Death_ hadn’t just been a nickname. To him, developing new weapons had been more about the thrill of discovery, making something new and unique and if it then helped bring about peace and help the military…well, who was he to argue about it? But the betrayal of his best friend and all the events which followed had forced his eyes open and he couldn’t in good conscience continue to develop weapons and let them loose on the world. This didn’t mean he had stopped…he just wasn’t selling his more ingenious pieces, and now with the Avengers no longer a pipe dream of Fury, there might actually be some good use for his skills. He had more to offer than being Iron Man after all.

“I’ll just…” Tony made a vague gesture with his hand. Pepper snorted at him.

“Go, go,” she insisted. “Before you explode with whatever is on your mind…”

Tony smiled at her, one of his rare and true smiles, before he hurried down the hall towards his lab. He didn’t much like this house, too many memories of his father and of his childhood but it was only for a short while until his own home was back up and running.

Once he was through the state of the art security doors, he engaged the lock down sequence, making sure no one could enter. Not even Pepper because there were always things he’d rather no one knew about.

Compared to his lab back in California, this place was tiny but the equipment was up to speed even if the rest of the house was more old fashioned.

One single touch and the display fields turned on. Snatching the jewel out of his pocket, he placed it onto the scanner. Seconds later, the image was complete and he grabbed it once more, twirling in his fingers.

It glistered, shifted and practically sparkled, just like the Tesseract had, albeit it wasn’t bigger than a thumb’s finger nail.

“Run test sequences,” Tony ordered. “Compare with known data of Tesseract.”

Technically, he wasn’t supposed to have those research details but hey, he was a genius and when he’d broken through countless firewalls on Fury’s secret flying ship slash plane slash crazy contraption, he’d also made sure to download everything he could get his hands on. He wouldn’t call it a stroke of luck that he’d also managed to get some research data…he’d call it _skill_.

“Comparison complete,” Jarvis announced.

And yes, there was no way to deny what he was seeing, what he’d already known to be true but hadn’t wanted to believe. In his possession, on a string, made up like some jewellery you’d give to a woman, was a small piece of the Tesseract.

It was then he remembered the piece of paper he’d stuffed into his pockets. He quickly retrieved it, spreading it out.

_I borrowed your transporter device. To pay my debt to you, I hope this will suffice._

The note wasn’t signed but there was no doubt on his mind who had written it. There was only one person who had the smarts to realize what Tony had been working on…there was only one person who could magic his way through his security protocols and have the audacity to steal from him.

“The bastard,” Tony huffed but despite his outward complaining, he wasn’t actually mad.

If Loki managed to escape, then he would know if his device worked without actually having to find some poor schmuck to test it for him. And he’d scored a piece of the Tesseract!

Well, a major villain might’ve gone free, this wasn’t good but Tony was pragmatic enough to know it was going to happen sooner or later anyway. Loki was too smart to be contained for too long and somehow, he couldn’t see Thor killing his brother.

Considering how attached the blond god slash alien was to his adoptive sibling, he would make sure Loki stayed alive even if their father on Asgard would condemn Loki to death. No, sooner or later the Trickster would’ve escaped and so what if it had happened sooner?

Tony chewed on his lower lip. Maybe, he should feel bad about this…should he tell someone about it? Warn people?

_Nah_ …he decided. If his device had worked, then Loki could be anywhere and it wasn’t as if they had any means of contacting Asgard.

No, the best for everyone would be if he started his research into clean energy and if he actually found something which would benefit everyone…

Having made up his mind, Tony went to work, unaware of the game changing decision he’d just made.

##

“You have a visitor,” Jarvis announced.

“Go away,” Tony mumbled, too busy with the equations before him to care about anything else. What if he changed the parameters over here…how would it affect the equation?

“I am sorry, Sir,” Jarvis announced, slight sneer in his voice. “Ms. Potts is currently overwriting the block on the door. She should be in the outer section momentarily…”

“What did I tell you about not letting anyone in?” Tony demanded to know. “She can’t be overwriting my security measures unless you’re letting her!”

“It is for your own good. You’ve been obsessed with your research for too long,” Jarvis answered.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Why had he programmed his AI to be this annoying? And why hadn’t he changed said programming yet? Did he like to be annoyed? He blinked, deciding not to go there. Self reflection never let to anything good and it only served to make him depressed.

“Fine,” he growled, shutting everything down. Pepper might not have his smarts but she was pretty swift in figuring _him_ out and he didn’t want to risk her stumbling upon what he was currently doing.

“Make sure you file everything under Project Enigma and Jarvis?” This time he wasn’t joking and he was sure, his AI could tell the difference. “If anyone gains access to this, I will not only delete you, I will upload you into a car and then slowly crush you to death. And then, when your bits are scattered and barely functioning…”

“I understand,” Jarvis answered hastily. “Project Enigma will not be accessed by anyone but you…”

“Thank you, how kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Tony!”

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin because while threatening his AI, he’d managed to forget about Pepper. _Whoops._

“When was the last time you ate anything?”

Tony’s gaze flickered to the pizza carton next to him. He frowned. “Em…”

“Never mind, come on, there’s a package for you and,” She then leaned forward, sniffing the air. “While I warm you up some soup, you’d better have a shower and change your clothes.”

Tony knew better than to argue with this lovely assistance and on/off lover so he nodded, brushing passed her.

“Oh and Jarvis?” she added. “Ventilate the room. He’ll be needing some fresh air when he gets back.”

“Will do, Ms. Potts. Your wish is my command.”

“Flatterer,” Tony mumbled.

“Just because you gave Jarvis more charm than you could ever manage, doesn’t mean you have to be difficult about it.”

“What?” Tony blustered, hurrying after her now since she’d managed to over take him. How she managed to walk this quickly while wearing heels this high, he didn’t know but the blond woman still managed to glide ahead, not even stumbling once. Her skirt was businesslike but still so tight, it had him practically drooling. Tilting his head sideways, he admired the view.

“When you’re done ogling my ass,” Pepper continued, her arms now firmly planted at her hips, “then I would suggest you go and have a shower. You stink.”

“I’ve got charm!” Tony insisted, ignoring the comment about the shower. “I’ll have you know, I charmed quite a lot of women out of their panties …”

“Please,” Pepper made an aborted gesture with her hand. “That was more your money or your cars than actually _you_. I’ve got to admit, you’re not without some merits but…”

“Hey!” Tony protested. “You slept with me more than once and I doubt it was for money or for my cars!”

Pepper squinted at him before she answered. “I claim temporary insanity. It was bound to happen sooner or later…” Then she whirled around in a flourish before click clacking on her high heels towards the kitchen.

Tony shook his head, rubbing at his stubble. Maybe a shave would do him good too. Getting clean didn’t take too long and when he was done, there was a steaming pot of soup waiting for him.

It had a huge sticker on it which said _eat me_ which of course had Tony going naughty places and his dick twitching in interest. “Pepper?” he asked, looking around. Maybe she’d be up for some entertainment? He had been a bit neglectful of her recently but surely she wasn’t really cross with him, right? Then again, who knew what women were thinking generally? They might just as well be a different life form because regardless of how much he enjoyed being with them, they never made much sense.

Maybe, it was time for him to go back to sleeping with men. It’d been a while, granted, but he believed in equal opportunities and it would be downright cruel of him to deprave one gender of his awesomeness.

“Ms. Potts has left. She informed me she had a business meeting she couldn’t ignore. She instructed me not to let you into the lab unless you finished the soup.”

“Of course she did,” Tony mumbled and considering how his AI and her liked to gang up on him, he didn’t doubt for once second that Jarvis would follow through. There was no harm in eating the soup though so he grabbed the spoon and started eating.

Since not only women managed to multi task, he was busy with his soup while unpacking the parcel. He wasn’t worried about letter bombs or anything else hazardous to his health because anything delivered to him went through a rigorous screening process and besides, it had been delivered by Pepper and she would never hand deliver anything to him unless she’d done her job. She could turn into a harpy if she thought he was taking too many risk. He still hadn’t made up his mind if he found this side of her endearing or just downright alarming.

Ripping the paper apart always satisfied some primal need to destroy and he allowed for no prisoners as he unwrapped the small package. In it was a phone. A very expensive, state of the art phone. Why would someone send him _a phone_?

It flared to life the moment he touched it, a text message displaying on its screen in vivid green letters. The colour reminded him of someone but he couldn’t quite put his finger on who just yet.

At least until he read the message…then everything became quite clear.

_You might want to know that your transporter worked._

**A shame, really.**

He texted right back. He just couldn’t help himself. He could practically hear the amused snort coming through the phone even though there was nothing displayed. Was he really texting with Loki?

Wait a minute. He squinted, looking down at the screen. Why was his writing displayed in pink?

**Why am I pink?**

_I don’t know. Maybe you want to tell the world something?_

**Smartass**

_How is your research coming?_

**Still running tests.**

_I thought you’d have made some staggering discoveries by now…aren’t you supposed to be a genius?_

__Says the one who managed to get himself arrested and needed my help to escape…_ _

__Tony floundered a little bit after he’d written the last sentence because this sounded horrible. He hadn’t actually helped a known villain escape. And why was he bantering with Loki? The guy had thrown him out of a window! Fair enough, he could forgive the whole _window incident_ since it had allowed him to see if his suit was working and he was all about field testing anyway…but what about the whole invasion thing? Wanting to rule the world?_ _

__**You done with your whole mighty ruler phase then?** _ _

___Been there, done that_ was the swift reply, followed by _Moving on to green pastures now.__ _

__**Should I be worried?** _ _

___Only if you have a thing for sheep._ _ _

__Now, Tony was worried. Because for the life of him, he couldn’t fathom what Loki wanted with sheep…and anything he came up with, well, it wasn’t good and it gave him insight into his own depraved mind which he’d rather avoid, thank you very much._ _

__##_ _

__Over the next few days, he tried his best not to watch the news, waiting for anything dreadful concerning sheep but nothing was mentioned. This worried him even more so on the fourth day, he succumbed to his curiosity._ _

__**Alright, what is it with you and sheep?** _ _

__There was no immediate answer so Tony kept the phone next to him while he worked on the Tesseract, glancing at it ever so often. It wasn’t because he was worried about missing out on a message; he wasn’t a school girl with a crush, terrified to miss an important message of her newest beau. Still, his gaze ever so often flickered sideways and when the display went dark to safe power, he kept nudging it to wake it up. _All for the greater good_ , he told himself, _just trying to figure out Loki was going to be a danger again or not.__ _

___Haven’t you ever wondered why they have these beady, dark eyes?_ _ _

__**No?** _ _

___They’re planning world domination and no one but me gets to plan that!_ _ _

___Now, Tony was definitely worried. Not so much for the world in general but for Loki’s sanity. And what was worse? A super villain with all his marbles intact or one who’d gone off the deep end?_ _ _

____You still there?_ _ _ _

___**Please tell me you aren’t serious. Leave the sheep alone!** _ _ _

____But they are looking at me funny!_ _ _ _

___**They are sheep! They don’t know any better!** _ _ _

____Exactly! I’ve got to teach them a lesson!_ _ _ _

___**No, you don’t. Move away from the sheep. Find something else to focus your crazy on.** _ _ _

____You volunteering?_ _ _ _

___Errr…Tony’s mind stuttered to a halt. Was he really having an insane conversation about evil sheep with Loki?_ _ _

___Since he had nothing else left to say, he warily glanced at the phone before he raised a finger and gingerly moved it away. Who knew, maybe it would bite?_ _ _

___He then went back to work, loosing himself in what he did best. And tried not to think of _sheep_ and their evil plans to rule all of mankind…_ _ _

___##_ _ _

___“You are being unreasonable…”_ _ _

___“I’m unreasonable?” Tony spit back, eyes narrowed to slits. “I’m the one who did all the research, whose name is on the patent and who’s responsible for the alloy but am I being given credit?”_ _ _

___“Tony…”_ _ _

___“No!” Tony shouted, grabbing the nearest piece of glass, throwing it to the ground. When it shattered with a satisfying crunch, he reached for the next one until Pepper grabbed him, slender fingers wrapping around his wrist._ _ _

___“Tony,” She said, beseechingly. “They meant no harm…”_ _ _

___“And yet they honoured the memory of father!”_ _ _

___“Tony!”_ _ _

___“He might’ve published a paper on a similar subject aeons ago,” Tony conceded, “but he never took it any further!”_ _ _

___He wrestled his hand away from Pepper’s grip, snatching up the next glass, throwing it at the wall. Tiny shards of glass exploded everywhere and they both had to shield themselves to avoid getting hit._ _ _

___“I’m the one who found the right combination of metals to produce a super light, super strong alloy which could actually be used for such things as…oh I don’t know…space travel?” Tony went back to ranting, feeling entirely justified._ _ _

___His father’s legacy might be something to be proud off but he was getting mighty tired of always being in the shadow of the man. It had been bad enough growing up with him, always ignored unless he made enough of a fuss to be shouted at…hadn’t he done enough on his own by now to be recognized for who he was?_ _ _

___“Damn it!” he yelled again, watching as Pepper held up her hands, slowly retreating._ _ _

___“When you’ve found your sanity again, let me know,” she told him._ _ _

___“No one understood”, Tony lamented at the now silent walls. “No one,” he added yet again. In a huff, he turned around, leaving his penthouse behind in favour of his lab. He’d finally been able to move to back in, out of his family’s blasted town house and right now, finding solace in his own lab might be just what he needed. Otherwise, he might actually do some damage, take his Iron Man suit and blast a few holes into buildings or people…the idea was tempting._ _ _

___Still full of rage, he didn’t even notice when he grabbed a bottle of Scotch from its hiding place, pouring himself a glass. He wasn’t an alcoholic; but he admitted, he might have indulged a little bit too much in the past which was why his home was mostly dry now. Still, a man had needs which was why he kept a stash hidden all over the place. For exactly such a situation! He wasn’t even consciously aware of how his fingers moved over the keyboard, formulating a text message while ranting the words out loud._ _ _

___**Why is it always about my father? I make a ground breaking invention and who gets the credit? Him! And he was a horrible father! Nothing but a drunk!** _ _ _

___There was more ranting about his childhood, involving baring his soul without even realizing what he was doing. He was on a roll and since he’d never shared this with anyone else, he found he couldn’t stop. It was as if someone had pulled a plug and now all the stored up anger and grief was just rolling out of him like an avalanche with him powerless to stop it._ _ _

___When he was done, he pushed the glass away, watching as it tumbled off the narrow desk, shattering on the floor. Without a glass, he simply drank from the bottle, settling back in his comfortable chair, staring up at the ceiling._ _ _

___There was the familiar ping on the phone which told him he had a message waiting for him. He hadn’t actually expected reply, assuming he must’ve scared Loki off with his ranting and raving. And wouldn’t that be a good thing?_ _ _

____I was never told I was adopted. I found out by accident. Can you imagine what it was like to suddenly be the thing everyone hated?_ _ _ _

___**Eh?** _ _ _

____I am surprised Thor hasn’t spilled his sordid family secret but maybe he’s too embarrassed to actually admit…_ _ _ _

___**Don’t be an idiot. I haven’t known him long but I do remember him calling you brother. And what do you mean by sordid secret?** _ _ _

____I’m not Asgardian. I’m Jotun._ _ _ _

___Tony stared at the screen. Had they covered Norse mythology in high school? Squinting at the screen didn’t produce any answers so he had no choice but to ask. His curiosity was piqued and anyone who’d ever met him knew there wasn’t anything more dangerous than Tony Stark on a search for answers._ _ _

___**I don’t know what that means.** _ _ _

____Long story short, Asgard and Jotunheim were at war and they lost. Odin decided to raise me as his own but he failed to tell me of my true parentage. And on Asgard, there are many stories told to children about the horrors of Jotunheim._ _ _ _

___**So a Jotun is like the boogieman for you guys?** _ _ _

____I am not familiar with the reference. But I was raised listening to stories about the evil Jotun only to discover I was one of them._ _ _ _

___**And you went slightly nuts when you found out…** _ _ _

___Tony stared at the display, thinking this explained a lot. He was no stranger to father issues but at least he’d always known who his parents were and what his family’s history was. He couldn’t even fathom being raised as a Stark only to find out, quite by accident, he was some foundling…and this was without the added bonus of being raised with horror stories about who you were._ _ _

___No wonder the guy had issues. But what should he say now? Sorry? This was hardly adequate but he also didn’t want to give the guy some platitudes._ _ _

___So he settled for keeping it down to the point and simple._ _ _

___**This sucks…** _ _ _

___His only reply was a sound transmitted back to him which sounded very much like a snort. Smiling, Tony pushed the bottle away, going back to work. Who said he couldn’t work while drunk? Some of his best ideas had come to him while he’d been sloshed._ _ _

___##_ _ _

___“There are people here to see you and they are very insistent,” Jarvis announced._ _ _

___“Make them go away,” Tony replied._ _ _

___“I’m concerned with what Thor might do if you turn him away. He is looking a bit put off.”_ _ _

___“Thor?” Tony raised his head. Now he was curious. “Lock away the research, engage security protocol Alpha.”_ _ _

___If Thor was here, then the other Avengers couldn’t be far behind and this might include Fury._ _ _

___He hurried out of the lab and up to his penthouse. He was seriously going to have to re-think his security if people could so easily barge into his home. Maybe some sort of holding area a few floors down? With a few handy gas bombs strategically planted so he could neutralize people he didn’t like talking to? Was this too extreme?_ _ _

___“Stark,” Fury greeted him when he arrived._ _ _

___Tony flipped him off. It was a reflex, what could he say?_ _ _

___Steve was ambling by the window, looking interested while Bruce was leaning against the counter. Clint and Natasha had taken to the sofa while Thor stood ramrod straight inside the middle of the room._ _ _

___“Greetings, Tony Stark,” he said when Tony gave him a slight nod. “I am happy to find you in good health.”_ _ _

___“Likewise,” Tony replied. “So what’s the emergency?”_ _ _

___“Loki escaped,” Steve supplied._ _ _

___Tony raised an eye brow but stayed otherwise silent._ _ _

___“Aren’t you interested in how?” Fury inquired, suspicion evident in his voice but Tony didn’t care since the guy was always suspicious of something. How he ever got any sleep while suspecting plots left and right was beyond him._ _ _

___“Does it matter?” Tony inquired._ _ _

___“Quite right,” Thor’s voice boomed through the room. “My brother is quiet talented when it comes to magic…”_ _ _

___“Wasn’t the muzzle supposed to block his magic?” Natasha interrupted._ _ _

___“It was,” Thor nodded. “However, my brother’s skills are quite amazing. He must have found a way around it…”_ _ _

___Tony eyed Thor, eyes narrowed. The guy didn’t sound as if he despised his little brother. If anything, the only impression he got at the moment was pride at having such a clever sibling and worry._ _ _

___“If this is all?” Tony made a vague gesture with his hand, crooking his head towards the elevator._ _ _

___“A known villain is on the loose,” Fury predictably continued._ _ _

___Tony sighed, rubbing his jaw._ _ _

___“And…?” He gave an eye roll to the dark skinned man when his question was only met with a blank stare. “He’s gone. Yes, not so good…” he continued. “But what do you want me to do about it? Take my suit and randomly fly over New York? I don’t think, he’ll come back here. If he is as smart as Thor says, then he knows better…”_ _ _

___“He might want revenge,” Clint suggested. “We defeated him after all.”_ _ _

___“And he’d be stupid enough to do it now? When we’re on alert?” Tony asked incredulously. “If I want to get even, I’d take my time. Plot, wait it out until the guy is relaxed and doesn’t see me coming…”_ _ _

___“Quite right,” Thor nodded yet again at Tony. “You and my brother are quite alike. He would not rush into anything. He is quite apt at planning…”_ _ _

___“And he has a thing for sheep,” Tony couldn’t stop himself from muttering which earned him a raised eye brow from Thor._ _ _

___“Well, since we’ve agreed that there isn’t anything we can do…” he tried again but he was stopped by Steve who was only just now joining the conversation._ _ _

___“It isn’t smart to be scattered. Unless our presence is requested on a mission, I suggest we stay together. There’s strength in numbers.”_ _ _

___“Excellent idea, Steve,” Fury immediately liked idea. Probably because it was going to inconvenience Tony. And he’d been right because the next words out of his mouth were, “Since Tony here has the best security and the most space, I suggest you grab your bags and move into the guest rooms…”_ _ _

___Tony’s mouth gaped open, ready to protest but then he just sighed, nodding his agreement. “Fine, fine,” he muttered. “Bruce can show you were to go and get you up to speed on the security. I’ll get you your own codes when you come back…”_ _ _

___All of them under one roof with Tony texting Loki and Thor staring at him, this couldn’t end well…Tony wasn’t one for seeing doom and gloom everywhere but he might have to reconsider his stance on the matter._ _ _

___A ping in his pocket signaled yet another message. There was nothing strange at all about his phone pinging, so he quickly retrieved it, scanning the text. Still, he kept a casual eye on everyone else to make sure no one was trying to and invade his privacy._ _ _

____There is a herd of sheep in front of my door. What should I do? They are blaring at me!_ _ _ _

___Tony stared at the screen. _Sheep_ yet again? Where the hell was Loki? And he was going to need to find a way to talk to Thor about Loki and his issues with sheep. Surely, this couldn’t be a new thing…_ _ _

___And one day, Tony wasn’t going to be known as the savior of mankind, as Iron Man or as a brilliant man. No, he was going to be known as the guy who rescued stupid sheep from a crazy Asgardian slash Jotun which issues._ _ _

___Great…he could practically feel the next bottle of Scotch calling out to him._ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

Animals are apparently following him around because this was the only reason a crazed supposed supper villain kept sending him increasingly frantic texts about sheep while his own home was slowly turning into a zoo of a different kind.

Maybe he should start looking into the possibility he’d gotten dropped on his head and ended up in an alternate reality where this was actually normal? Then again, this was his life so he should be used to crazy by now. Usually though, he was the one instigating the crazy and he could practically feel the urge to amp up the game rising inside him because no one, _no one_ was supposed to outdo him in crazy.

Doing any kind of research was out of the question, since Jarvis was delighting to interrupt him with news about how his guests were settling in. Currently Natasha was chasing down Clint with a spatula because he’d snug into her room.

And Steve was sulking on his bed because Jarvis had insisted all weapons had to be left at the entrance to the guest floor including his shield. Apparently parting Steve from his shield was the call sign for a major mope. Well, at least it got the Captain and his condescending looks out of the way so he wasn’t totally ungrateful.

He’d always had kind of a crush on the man, well, the idea of him anyway because even when he’d been ten, he’d realized his hero wasn’t actually a real person but a figment of his imagination since real, selfless heroes didn’t exist.

Just look at this bunch of supposed heroes! There was him, and he was the last person anyone would ever call a _hero_ since if he were dangling from a rope and it was either him or another person, he’d cut the other person’s life line in a heart beat. He wasn’t selfless and he wasn’t out to better the world.

Natasha, the famous Black Widow, had her own dark past and while she was trying to make up for it, she also wasn’t hero material per se. Clint, or Hawkeye, was a soldier doing his duty so maybe, just maybe, he would qualify, at least to some degree.

Bruce definitely hadn’t chosen this kind of life; it had sort of been forced on him and he was making the best out of an awful situation. Truthfully, Tony couldn’t decide if turning into a green rage monster was worse or better than living on borrowed time as he was.

Thor was difficult to classify but Tony doubted he was here because he was only interested in saving earth or keeping them save. It was a part of it, sure, the blond was noble like that, to a nauseating degree even, but his main reason was his awol brother.

The only one who had joined their fight for the so called right reasons was the Cap and it was probably because of this, that the guy had taken an instant dislike to Tony. A pity, really, since he still liked the guy. When he wasn’t looking at him like he was an ant and he loved nothing more than to step on him to teach him some manners.

It was a scary thought to realize that out of all the people who surrounded him, he’d actually had more in common with their supposed enemy which was probably why he’d become so stupidly fond of their text exchanges. Even if Loki’s rants about sheep were starting to go from mildly disturbing to downright…well, Tony couldn’t locate the right word to describe his level of _freaked out_.

Tony was deep in thought, pondering the recent craziness including one dark haired, green eyed super villain he wasn’t even remotely fascinated with, when a huge hand clapped him on the shoulder.

“Gah…” he exclaimed, doubling sideways under the onslaught. Rubbing his aching flesh, he’d turned around, coming face to face with Thor. “Figures,” he mumbled, “Guy doesn’t know his own strength.”

“Man of Iron, greetings.”

Tony gave him an awkward smile. Maybe he should’ve given the construction of his tower a few more thoughts. He’d put in an entire level reserved for guest rooms but he’d failed to plan in a sort of lounge or kitchen area which was why his private space was being invaded. 

“Tony!” Steve popped his head in, smiling too cheerful for Tony’s liking, setting his teeth on edge. “Why don’t you join us for a little team building in the exercise room?”

_Exercise Room?_

Tony frowned; he wasn’t aware he had a torture room anywhere in the tower. Sure, he worked out, couldn’t keep his body in the awesome shape it was currently in if he didn’t do some sport but he’d always balked at installing torture equipment anywhere he lived. His guilty pleasure was running because it allowed his mind to wander, giving him the freedom he craved plus necessary exercise. 

“We converted one of your guest rooms…Natasha suggested we’d try trust exercises…” Steve continued, not aware of the hole he was currently digging himself in.

“I don’t think so,” Tony briskly rejected the offer.

Steve, predictably, scowled at him. “You are part of this team, Tony,” he informed him as if he didn’t already know. “It is important…”

“Why do I always need to remind everyone about this?” Tony interrupted him. “I’m self absorbed and don’t play well with others…do I need to write a memo about this?”

Steve gaped at him, at a loss for words for a few seconds before he recovered. “Are you proud of being an ass?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at him. Sure, in battle he didn’t mind taking orders from the guy because he knew what he was talking about. He’d proven his metal and despite _not playing well with others_ , Tony wasn’t an idiot. Part of being smart was knowing when someone else had more expertise and use it. Doesn’t mean this wasn’t going to change in the future though…

“You would do well to remember what roof you are currently sleeping under,” Thor came to Tony’s rescue which had Tony’s head swirling about, transferring his glare to the blond warrior instead of Steve. It wasn’t the same type of glare though because no one could really be mad at Thor. How Loki had managed for so long, Tony didn’t know. The guy was kind of like a big puppy, a dangerous puppy sure, but also one of the few people where what you saw was what you got. 

Thor’s eyes settled on Tony. “Does this realm not have any rules about hospitality?”

Steve’s answer was to close the door. It was out of character for him not to engage in an argument but apparently he must’ve realized he wasn’t going to win this one.

There was a ping in his pocket, signalling yet another message. Tony raised a hand, wordlessly telling Thor to _just hold on for a minute_ while he quickly checked the newest rant about sheep.

_I have won the battle. The lead sheep has bowed down before me and is leading the herd away._

**Congratulations** Tony texted right back, hoping his sarcasm carried. It was then when an idea occurred to him. Since no technical device ever refused to do what he wanted, he quickly enabled audio. When he was ready, he would connect to Loki’s device and the menace would be able to listen to what was being said while being unable to actually talk back.

Of course, he’d always have the option to terminate the call but this would be up to him.

“Can I offer you some coffee?” Tony raised his head, giving Thor his most winning smile which earned him a startled blink. “There’s an excellent coffee shop just around the corner. I bet you’ve never tried a cinnamon latte…”

When Thor seemed confused, Tony took matters into his own hands, closing the distance between them and then, carefully, nudging the warrior towards the lift.

It didn’t take them long to get there and even though everyone was pretty decent about keeping their distance, a few heads still turned their way, staring opening at the two heroes. Tony didn’t mind. He practically glowed under all the attention, basking in the afterglow of their recent success. Thor either wasn’t aware of what was happening or maybe he was used to it since he was a Prince on Asgard.

Tony selected a table by the window which gave them a good view but which was still secluded. He waved at the woman behind the counter, raising his fingers to signal _two_. Normally, he was a black coffee kind of guy but every time he came here, he indulged in the cinnamon drink. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Here you go,” she said, putting the two mugs down on the table between them. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks, Rachel,” Tony smiled at her, giving her a little wink which had her blushing, ducking her head. He reached for his wallet but she put her hand onto his. 

“My treat, enjoy…” she said, smiling at him once more before turning around, heading back to the counter.

“You know the maiden?”

“Not really,” Tony answered, shrugging.

Thor seemed puzzled by the concept of casual friendship and Tony had bigger fish to fry than to try and explain the concept to him. Besides, the only reason why Tony kept remembering her name is because she was making his coffee. Women he’d slept with in the past often weren’t so lucky…but what did it honestly matter what their names were? It wasn’t as if they were under any illusions that the romp between the sheets was going to be anything but a good time.

He shoved the mug towards Thor who looked a bit dubious before lifting it.

Tony quickly dialled up the connection to Loki, strategically placing the phone on the table. Thankfully, Thor still had no concept of modern technology so he wasn’t going to suspect anything.

“So,” Tony started the conversation. There was no easy way to get going, so he just jumped right in. Or at least he’d planned to just _jump in_ because Thor actually got there first.

Disconcerting, really.

“I was sincere when I compared you to my brother,” the Norse God of Thunder said.

Tony blinked.

“I mean no disrespect,” Thor continued quickly as if he was worried he might have offended Tony by comparing him to his wayward little brother. “But you possess the same silver tongue and the same keen mind as he does.”

“Shame really, he isn’t talking to you.”

“Yes,” Thor answered forlornly. “It would be a lie if I did not admit to some feelings of anger and confusion once I learned of his true parentage...But who his parents were is of no concern to me. He's my brother.”

This was a lot more enlightened than Tony had expected. Thor gave the impression of being a kind hearted man who’d jump off a roof to safe a cat but no one would’ve ever thought to use words like _insightful_ or _deep_ to describe him. Maybe everyone was wrong and there was more to the blond than he got given credit for.

After all, wasn’t Tony more than a billionaire who loved to party and could never keep it in his pants?

“You miss him then?” Tony tried to steer the conversation towards what he hoped Loki was overhearing. “You don’t mind…?”

“Mind?”

Tony almost gave himself away by calling Loki _a Jotun_ but since thinking quickly came naturally to him, he amended without Thor being the wiser, to say, “That he isn’t really your brother?”

“But he is,” Thor insisted without missing a beat. “I do not care if we do not share the same parents,” he went to on to say, “but in my heart, he will always be my little brother. I am proud of his achievements and I should have said so a lot sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Loki had told him about how he’d always trailed after his big brother, hoping for any sign of approval and eventually, he’d given up. Being on the outside looking in, never fitting in with the group Thor hung out with, didn’t help matters either.

“I was blind,” Thor explained. “Too sure of the continued affection of my only sibling. I never saw how his tricks were meant to get him attention, how they were supposed to get my attention…”

“Didn’t he try to have you killed when you came here the first time around?” This was vague enough, Tony decided, to not give away how he’d already heard the other side of the story.

“If Loki wanted me dead,” Thor said gravely, “Then I would be dead. Do you think someone as cunning and as skilled as he is, would’ve not yet succeeded? He had more than enough opportunity for a killing blow.”

“Why do you think then he’s acting like he is then?”

“Loki’s always had an ego. So naturally, if he throws a tantrum, he’s going to do it in epic proportions.”

Tony cringed. Thor wasn’t wrong but comparing Loki’s recent attempts to a _tantrum_ wasn’t going to help matters. He could practically hear Loki huffing in outrage even though no sound was audible.

“So despite everything, you’d still welcome him back with open arms?”

Thor only paused for a second and Tony was glad for it. If he'd waited any sooner, even he would've doubted the answer. And this wasn't the message he wanted to convey to Loki.

“I would,” he confessed. “I have killed people too, and not always in battle. My means might be different than my brother’s but I will carry the shame of my actions with me until I leave this existence for the next. I cannot excuse what he did, there will be repercussions, but I would still welcome him back with open arms and fight anyone who would dare harm him.”

Tony smiled, deciding he’d now tortured Loki long enough with this talk. He reached out, grabbing the phone and disconnecting the call. There was a pleased smile on his face when he grabbed his mug because Loki hadn’t broken the connection on his end.

Thor finally decided to try the coffee and when he put the mug down, Tony burst out laughing, making a vague gesture with his finger, pointing at his nose. Thor, of course, didn’t understand.

“You’ve got foam on your nose.”

For a man this big and intimidating, Thor didn’t seem to care about the foam because his answer was to raise the mug again, drinking deeply. Only when the coffee was completely gone, did he grab a napkin, fixing himself up.

“You shouldn’t be drinking coffee this quickly,” Tony informed him.

“The coffee was cooling,” Thor replied. “I do not think it would have tasted good when it was cold.”

“True,” Tony easily agreed.

“What we discussed,” Thor somewhat awkwardly started to say.

Tony caught on quickly, making a zipping motion with his hand. Thor didn’t understand so he put the gesture into words. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about our sharing and caring if you promise the same.”

A curt nod was his answer.

##

His research was now put on a backburner since he never got enough peace and quiet to actually allow himself to be absorbed with the equations. Sure, he enjoyed the physical aspect of his work but what really got him going were the equations, the problems which could only be solved with his mind.

It was only a few days later when yet another package arrived. As it was now custom, much to Tony’s annoyance, everyone was gathered for dinner in his living room. Pepper walked in, this time dressed casually and without her alarming high heels, carrying a package for him.

“For you,” she announced, brining it over to the table.

“Really?” Tony wasn’t bouncing or anything but he did like receiving presents. Especially if they came from the lovely Pepper. “What you get me? Did I forget my birthday?”

This had been known to happen…

“This isn’t from me. It was left for you.”

“Don’t open it!” Steve yelled from across the room.

“Don’t worry,” Pepper assured him, blond head turning towards the Captain. “I ran it through the usual security scans. Nothing toxic or dangerous was found inside when it was scanned.”

Tony hadn’t waited for her explanation since he knew she would never bring anything to him unless it had already been checked, so by the time she finished talking, he’d already ripped the package open, peaking inside.

There was a jar inside, looking harmless. Tony grabbed it, lifting it out of the box, putting it onto the table. Lifting the lid was easy and he regretted it immediately when it exploded, showering him in green goo.

He froze on the spot, inhaling a scent way too sweet for the slime like thing currently sticking to him, running down his face.

“Don’t touch it!” Thor was shouting now and Tony was still a little bit wide eyed when he watched the warrior grab the box, carefully shoving it back into the remains of the package. “It’s draumr slime. One of Loki's specialities!”

Tony wasn’t worried though. Arms reached for him as he made his way towards the sofa, flopping down on it, staring up at the ceiling. Life was good, wasn’t it? Smiling wasn’t so hard either…happiness flowed through him, engulfing him. With a goofy smile on his face, he traced imaginary clouds, chasing them across the sky, watching them as they plunged to their death at the horizon. 

“What does it do?” Pepper whispered which was totally pointless since everyone was within earshot. Only Bruce was brave enough to actually come closer to him but before he could touch him, Thor was there, yanking him backwards. “Unless you want to be drugged, I would suggest you refrain from touching Tony.”

“Drugged?” Bruce asked, eyes darting back and forth between Tony and Thor.

“Yes,” Thor agreed. “It isn’t toxic and there aren’t any lasting side effects but anyone exposed, experiences euphoria and an altered state of mind.”

“So he’s on a trip then,” Clint boiled it down for everyone to understand. Tony waited, bidding his time, knowing someone would be foolish enough to try and come between him and his clouds. Eventually, it was Clint's face which came into view. The motion was so quick, Tony even impressed himself and yet, he still wasn't fast enough. Clint reared back as if he had been stung while Tony pulled his hand back. He pouted. He couldn't even have some little fun. He'd waited so long to actually gauge someone's eyes out and now they were dangling the opportunity in front of him just to snatch it away again! They were so mean!

“Funny,” he said and since it was, it deserved to be repeated. “Funny…”

“You sure this is from Loki?” Steve inquired. 

_Buzz kill_ , Tony thought. _Couldn’t even let him enjoy a little a high._

“It is,” Thor answered. 

“Loki sent this to Tony?” Pepper’s voice was outraged as if Loki had actually tried to harm him.

“Don’t be such a buzz kill,” Tony said out loud, repeating what he’d thought only moments before. “This is fun! Have you seen the pink sheep?”

“Sheep?” Steve inquired.

“Yes!” Tony insisted, fighting to escape the clinging hands of the sofa as he tried to sit up. “Over there! They must’ve escaped the recent battle and are trying to seek revenge.”

“What battle?”

“Sheep?”

Tony wasn’t so sure who was speaking any more but he didn’t care. He was floating, rising higher and higher and wow, would he be able to actually gaze down on the world? Go anywhere his mind wanted him to go to? Could he go to the Sun? He’d always wanted to see the ball of gas up close and personal…or maybe he should head towards the Asteroid belt? Cause a little havoc and send a few of them spiralling towards…what was it again…Saturn?

Bleeehhhh.....Bleehhhhhh...

His head hurt.

Tony whined, low in his throat, closing his eyes. Maybe if he didn't see them anymore, no more noises would assault his ears and he'd get some sleep. Suddenly be high any more, dancing on the clouds with pink sheep looking in, wasn't all so funny any more.

##

Tony stared at this latest acquisition, not sure if he'd gone mad or...if he'd gone mad. Yes, there was only one explanation for this: he'd gone and done it. He'd now joined Loki in his crazy sheep delusions.

The pink, stuffed sheep he'd procured in a children store was looking balefully up at him as if it knew, his future was doomed.

Waking up after his involuntary little drug induced sleep, the first thought in his mind had been _revenge_. If he'd let Loki get away with sending him drugs, then he'd give him the card blanch treat him like a door mat. And Tony was many things but he wasn't something to be stepped on.

Sure, the prank hadn't been a bad one which was why he wasn't contemplating wiring a small bomb to the sheep. Or soak it in a poisonous substance. No, he was simply going to send the cute, little pink sheep to Loki to bring his point across.

Now, if he could only remember what point he was trying to make?

His phone pinged, startling him out of his thoughts. He read through the instructions carefully before cutting his finger, drawing the circle as instructed. Of course Loki got to send him real packages because the Trickster knew where he lived. If Tony wanted to send something to him, he had to attempt using magic.

Well, to be fair, he wasn't the one doing magic. He was just setting everything up so that Loki could call the present to him.

When he was done drawing the blood circle, smudging a weird symbol in its centre, he placed the sheep in it and sent the _ok_ Loki. Seconds later, the sheep vanished.

A few seconds later, his phone transmitted, for the first time, audio. It was a cry of outrage.

Tony smirked.

The score was now 1:1.


	3. Chapter 3

He shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes. It wasn’t as if he was tired…but his eyes weren’t quite focusing on the interactive screens any more and how was he supposed to get anything done if everything turned blurry?

And ever since the drug induced trip and the pink sheep, he hadn’t been able to sleep well. Sheep in all shapes and sizes were haunting his dreams and, occasionally, they even came with Loki’s smirking head instead of the more _standard_ one. It was very unsettling to say the least.

Tony was used to nightmares. Dreaming of waking up in cold, damp places, forced to work while his life hung in the balance…he didn’t believe in talking about these so called _issues_ since he didn’t have any but in the quiet depths of his mind, he would have to admit he was still, sometimes, reeling from the betrayal of his best friend and how the events had forced his life down a new path.

Lately, those dreams were augmented by falling, sailing through space, watching as something exploded up front, showering him in bright sparks while he was plunging to his death.

Yes, not too fond of that dream either.

Compared to all those other nightmares, he couldn’t honestly justify calling dreaming about pink sheep and Loki as horrid but there was just something so very deeply disturbing about dreaming about sheep. He really needed to find a way to talk to Thor about this. There was no way Loki had come about this obsession without some background story.

Maybe he’d been attacked by a sheep when he’d been a little boy?

And now he was even thinking about sheep in his waking moments! He eyed the surface of his counter, contemplating smashing his head against it. Surely a headache would stop those crazy thoughts, right?

“How is my brother?” Thor’s voice startled him so much he’d lost the grip on his knife. It clattered to the smooth surface. Tony put both hands on the counter, taking a deep breath.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he went for evasive, maybe it would work.

When he looked up, Thor’s blue eyes were fixated on him, staring him down. Despite the whole puppy luck, apparently not much got passed him. Maybe the guy was just as shrewd as his little brother? Just better at masking it?

Come to think of it, disguising himself as a clueless puppy was downright ingenious. Why hadn’t he ever thought of it? Imagine how much more he could’ve accomplished if people hadn’t wanted to kill him but wanted to cuddle him instead?

He shook his head. _No_ , the thought was too disturbing to entertain for too long. He liked who he was. He’d come far from the abused child he’d been and he’d showed the world he was someone to reckon with.

“I know my brother,” Thor went on to say, keeping his distance as if he didn’t want to spook Tony into making like a deer caught in the headlights and run off to greener pastures.

 _Pastures_. He cringed. _Sheep_.

“If he wanted to truly harm you, then he would’ve sent you something else,” Thor continued, his eyes grave. “And yet, he sent you a drug which he was famous back home. At every celebration, people asked for it. This is how I know, he meant you no harm.”

“No harm?” Tony asked, raising an eye brow. “I passed out. I was flying high…I was…”

“You came to no harm…”

Tony deflated. It wasn’t as if he didn’t agree with Thor because he did. Loki had wanted to get back at him for meddling in his private business while at the same time, he wasn’t really mad at him either.

If he’d been angry, then he would’ve sent something a lot nastier.

“Loki likes to play games,” Thor said with a fond undertone. “He often turned my favourite garments pink and refused to turn them back unless I wore them at least once. Or he’d turned the wine into vinegar just to see us spit it out. Annoying he was but the games used to be harmless…”

“What changed?” Tony couldn’t help himself, he had to ask. Deep down he also couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if he didn’t have Pepper and Rhodey in his life. If after the betrayal, he didn’t have friends to catch him before he fell into a hole of darkness. He could’ve just as well gone down the vengeful path…

He’d been lucky in a way. Stane’s actions had honed his trust issues but he’d never held any illusions about family and about loyalty – thanks to his father.

Loki apparently hadn’t reacted so well to the revelation of his true parentage, when he’d found out his entire life had been nothing but a lie.

Thor looked thoughtful for a few moments before he shrugged. “I believe, his intentions at first were good. It pains me to admit it but when our conflict started, I really was a different person and unfit to be called a leader. I was looking for the glory of battle and I was less concerned for the lives involved in it.”

“You were raised to it.”

“To some degree, yes,” Thor admitted before adding, “But I’ve got a tendency to be rash…”

Tony nodded. _Yes_ , he’d noticed the famous temper but he’d figured they all had crutches to bear.

“I believe, he never intended to take it this far but when everything spiralled out of control and he discovered who he was, well, he didn’t know how to turn back then and my brother has never known how to back down from a fight. We’ve got that in common…”

Tony nodded again. Made sense. Rather than admitting he’d been wrong, Loki had opted to see it through. A reaction with which Tony was more than just familiar with…

“He’s fine,” he slowly said, eyes trained on his friend.

Thor nodded, giving him a small smile.

“Why did he send you the slime?”

Tony snorted. “Remember the cinnamon latte?”

When Thor nodded, he continued, “I had him listening in. He needs to know that you still care.”

Thor stared at him for a brief moment before he made a gesture which had Tony raising his hands in defence. “No, hugs, please…”

Thor stopped, frowning at him before he relented.

Tony wasn’t opposed to hugs per se but Thor often didn’t know his own strength and he wasn’t in the mood to get his bones squished.

Swallowing, he decided to take another leap of faith. Surely, Thor wasn’t going to rattle him out.

“Here,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, sliding it across the counter so Thor could pick it up. “You can read up on what we’ve been talking about. And maybe you could shed some light as to why Loki is so fixated on sheep.”

It was now Thor’s turn to raise an eye brow before he, almost reverently, picked up the phone and started scrolling.

Maybe Tony should stop his meddling but he’d kill to have this kind of love in his life, a brother who would look out for him despite him being an ass.

His father had loathed him, always pushed him away and while he’d like to think his mother would’ve been different, he’d never met the woman and she would’ve probably not liked him anyway.

Sure, Pepper was always there, kind of like a mother hen even though way younger and prettier but it still wasn’t the same.

So what if meddling with this was going to get him doused with drugs again. Loki needed to know his brother still cared because as far as evil super villains went, Loki wasn’t a total lost cause yet.

It was then, Steve stumbled into the room, looking even less awake than Tony was. Since he had apparently gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, Tony didn’t pay any more attention to him because he knew Thor wasn’t going to tattle. Steve’s eyes were slightly unfocused and if he’d been so inclined, he’d might even called the sleep tousled look as _adorable_ since the guy normally was so composed and pulled tight he could be masquerading as a string.

So Tony continued with fixing himself a light sandwich while in the periphery of his vision he saw Thor putting down the phone so he could take a bite of his own breakfast.

“There it is!” Steve exclaimed, snatching the phone up.

“No!” Tony shouted at the same time as Thor tried to retrieve the phone out of Steve’s hand.

“What?” Steve inquired. “Isn’t this my phone?”

But it was too late, too late for hopes and prayers because the idiot blond man out of time was already looking down, reading the text messages without really knowing what he was doing.

Sure, this was an accident. Steve hadn’t meant to snoop but Tony wasn’t in the mood to be charitable.

Steve’s eyes narrowed as he started to read on purpose while both Thor and Tony seemed to be frozen in place.

“How long…” Steve started to say before he revised what he was going to say to, “You knew Loki had escaped even before we did? You actually helped him?”

“Hey!” Tony objected, hands gripping the counter once more. This time he was preventing himself from leaping across it and hitting Steve in the face. “I didn’t help him! He stole from me and then he had the audacity to thank me for it!”

“And yet,” Steve waved the phone in the air to prove his point. “You’ve been talking to him ever since…”

Tony shrugged. He couldn’t quite deny the facts, right?

“My brother is simply lost,” Thor started speaking again in his very own careful way, words pronounced slowly and yet forcefully. “I am glad he has reached out…”

“You would, of course,” Steve said almost nastily, turning his head slightly to glare at Thor. “He’s your family, after all.”

Then he turned again, focusing his unrelenting blue gaze on Tony. “But Tony?” His voice rose, outrage and something else transmitting clearly. “He’s one of us. Loki threw you out a window! He nearly ended our world! And you’re here chatting to him…about…about _sheep_?”

Steve looked incredulous after uttering the last word and Tony couldn’t blame him. But he wasn’t going to back down from this.

“There no reason for you get all huffy…”

“Huffy?” Steve shouted.

“Yes, huffy,” Tony shouted right back. “I’m not handing over government secrets or sharing anything else with him! We’re just talking…like you said, about fucking sheep! And he knows where I live anyway. Hell, the whole world knows you guys are staying here! If he wanted to send me a bomb or blow us up, do you really think he’d be shy about it?”

Steve spluttered.

“And since he isn’t currently out to plot our demise and since he wasn’t a bad guy to start with, don’t you think it would be better to work on villain prevention than on villain killing?”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if he and Thor made up and he stopped taking out his anger on us?”

“As if all of this was only about him and his family!”

“Of course it is!” Tony was back to yelling. “Haven’t you been listening? Sure, he’s throwing a mighty tantrum but how often did he actually have the chance to kill Thor? Or actually kill anyone of us? And are we dead yet?”

“He threw you out a window…” Steve pointed out.

“And I survived!” Tony countered.

“You lied…”

“I didn’t lie!” Tony replied. “I just never told anyone I was talking to him! And has he done any havoc since we started talking, right?”

Steve started at him for a few moments before he, slowly, inched towards the small table to his right, attempting to put the phone down.

Because it was apparently Tony’s unlucky day, Steve missed because he was too busy staring at Tony, trying to process what had been said because apparently chatting to someone who’d thrown you out a window was extremely hard to comprehend.

And _yes_ , Tony admitted, maybe he should be holding a bit more of a grudge about that. Maybe another pink sheep was in order? No, he’d already done that…how could he top it though? He’d have to give it some thought.

The phone clattered to the ground and it must’ve hit at just the right angle because it broke apart.

Everyone froze again and then Steve moved, making as if he wanted to pick up the pieces but in an uncharacteristic fit of clumsiness, he bumped into the small table, sending the vase and its contents flying…right onto the phone.

Steve stared as all hope of fixing his only means of communicating with Loki got drowned in glass shards and water. He could fix nearly anything but he even he would have a hard time reviving chips which had gotten soaked in water. Well, there had been the one time where a drowned phone of his had accidentally come back to life after a day and he’d called it _zombie phone_ ever since. It was currently locked away in a drawer somewhere, just in case. And yes, of course he knew you could dry out the circuits and maybe recover the stored data…all hope wasn’t lost…but this wasn’t just any phone. It was a phone Loki had sent to him and it had been enhanced with magic. He had no clue how to fix magic…

No clue at all…

“I’m sorry,” Steve started to mumble while the world slowly started to fade into a red haze.

Tony snatched up the knife he’d used to carve the ham and he was leaping across the room before anyone could stop him, before even he was aware what he was doing. On his mind there was only one thing: Steve had broken his only means of communication with Loki and for some unfathomably reason, the loss of the device was amongst the worst pain he’d felt in quite a while. And he never had a very good reaction to desperation and pain to begin with him. His instinct always switched to lashing out, to beating whatever was hurting him into submission because he was Tony Stark and he didn’t yield to anything or anyone.

He might be no fighter, not like Steve and Thor, and without his suit he was nothing but an ordinary man but odds stacked against him had never stopped him from doing anything. 

He’d pinned Steve to the floor in no time at all, knife right at the jugular. Even someone like Steve wasn’t going to survive if he pressed just a little bit harder…just…right…there…

Maybe, or probably most certainly, Steve could’ve flung him across the room but there was a small chance he’d be able to at least knick the artery and Steve must have seen the intent in Tony’s eyes because he made no move at all.

His blue eyes were wide, staring up at him while Tony could feel Thor moving in behind him but contrary to what he’d been expecting, he wasn’t pulling him off Steve. He seemed content to let this play out. It was an odd feeling to have someone watching his back; odd, but not unwelcome. As if talking to Loki, as if being nice to the crazy guy with an obsession for sheep, had also gained him Thor’s approval. Maybe it wasn’t only Loki who’d gone off the deep end…

“If you’re not gone by the end of the day,” Tony issued his ultimatum, “then I’ll come up with a very inventive way to kill you. I promise.”

“Tony…” Steve whispered, trying to reason with him but Tony only narrowed his eyes, the tip of the blade drawing just a little blood so it could trickle down Steve’s pale throat.

“Don’t tempt me…” he snarled before pulling back, getting onto his feet. With narrowed eyes, he watched as Steve scrambled to his own feet before he ran from the room.

“I need some fresh air,” Tony muttered, letting go of the knife without a care in the world. He watched as it dropped to the floor, a little bit of blood splattering across the pale background.

Thor was still silent but even without words, Tony knew he’d found an ally.

Steve wasn’t going to take long to inform everyone else of Tony’s so called _betrayal_ and he doubted the others were going to react any differently.

Hell, once Fury learned of it, he’d live up to his name and probably go homicidal on Tony’s ass but it wasn’t as if he wasn’t prepared for this. Being paranoid was an art form and if the Avengers tried to come after him, he had enough blackmail material to keep them at bay.

He wasn’t above playing dirty if it suited him. Still, why was there a rock inside his throat, slowly sinking towards his stomach? Surely it wasn’t because he’d actually liked being part of a team…because he wasn’t a team player. He’d never needed approval from someone else but himself and yet, why did he feel this sick?

His throat was constricting him, cutting off any necessarily air flow to his lungs.

 _Fresh air_ …he needed fresh air.

How he got from the kitchen into the elevator and down in the garage level, he didn’t know.

Hell, he couldn’t even remember why he’d come down here in the first place since his goal had been to find _fresh air_ and an underground parking space was probably the last place anyone would go to find that. And yet, here he was. And his car keys were upstairs.

There was a sound behind him, barely there and yet, the tiny hairs at the back of his neck were standing up right. His instinct was screaming at him and he was crouching down, ready for a fight before his brain was actually catching up with what was happening.

Still, his movements, while almost inhumanly swift, were still too slow. Something connected with the side of his head, sending stars exploding into his vision and then, there was nothing but the darkness of space welcoming him home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I need to add an extra warning for sex? No...right?

He came to briefly when someone dumped him onto a hard surface. The shock of landing was enough to jolt him out of whatever darkness he’d slunk into but it wasn’t long enough to actually allow his brain to gear up and bring him up to speed.

Still, instinct was a marvellous thing because he didn’t necessarily need to find a clue as to what was happening because every bone in his body was screaming one message at him: fight.

So that’s what he did. He lashed out, kicking and screaming, latching onto anything his fingers could grab onto and if the shouts of pain and angry grunts were anything to go by, then he was succeeding in letting his unwillingness to be flung about like a sack of potatoes be known.

A dark shape, looking suspiciously like a gun came towards him. Falling onto his back, Tony raised both hands, latching onto the barrel, forcing it sideways, away from pointing at his head. Deep down he knew the men didn’t necessarily wanted him dead because if they did, they would’ve simply shot him into the back of his head instead of smacking him about. But just because this hadn’t been their initial plan, didn’t mean they weren’t going to change it. After all, Tony was a master in pissing people off until they did something rash. Why should this be any different?

With murder in his eyes, the man loomed over him while Tony tapped all hidden pockets of strength, grunting under the strain of it all.

“Don’t shoot him!” a shout rang out from somewhere behind Tony.

The guy holding the gun twitched, momentarily distracted. Tony pushed harder. His eyes widened almost comically when the finger on the trigger moved. Tony could almost see the bullet, at least his vivid imagination provided him with scary details, but what really overwhelmed his mind, was the pain which followed.

“Argh!” he screamed, fingers loosing their grip on the barrel as he slumped backwards. Slowly, very menacingly slowly, pain radiated from his right shoulder and when it reached his heart, he gasped, curling in on himself. He was no stranger to pain but if anyone ever thought you could actually get used to it, then he would call this man a liar.

When something came down yet again at the back of his head, sending him spiralling towards darkness once more, he couldn’t even tell if it was because he’d been knocked unconscious or if he was blacking out thanks to being shot.

And did it really matter?

##

When he woke up the second time, there was only a tiny light above him. Blinking, he tried to sit up, having momentarily forgotten what had happened. The hot blade slicing through his shoulder reminded him quick enough. He aborted any movement for now, slumping back down on the cold, hard floor. Well, he knew for certain the ground was hard but cold? Shivers were wrecking his body, running up and down his spine so the cold might actually be coming from _him_ and not so much from where he was lying on.

He hated being cooped up. Especially in dark, dank places because they reminded him…they reminded him…no, not going there…

Leaning sideways to avoid putting any strain on his injured shoulder, he heaved himself into a sitting position, shuffling around until he could lean against the dirty wall. Then he took a moment to inspect his new prison.

It was a cellar so at least it was a step up from a cave. There was no window, only one door and one measly light. Despite the run down look of the place, the door was sturdy and appeared to be steel enforced. There was also no lock he could see which meant he couldn’t even try picking it.

Knowing he didn’t carry a phone on him when he’d walked down into the garage and towards his doom, didn’t stop him from patting down his pockets. You could after all never know unless you checked. Sadly, this wasn’t his day, as Steve had proven not too long ago. At least he thought it hadn’t been too long ago. There was no way for him to tell how much time had actually passed.

He frowned when another shiver ran up and down his body while feeling as if someone had light a fire inside his bones. Raising a hand, he touched his forehead. His fingers found clammy skin. Maybe more time than he thought had passed because he was pretty sure it took at least a few hours before a fever developed…

Was anyone even looking for him?

He’d stormed out of the house, obviously pissed off and anyone he’d ever met knew that if he was in the right mood, he could be gone for days.

Eventually, Thor at least would start to worry but what good would that do him? The guy was brilliant in battle but when it came to track down kidnappers, Tony didn’t put much stock in him. And the question was: would anyone else care enough to wonder where he was? Or would they all side with Steve and let Tony fall through the cracks?

No, he could count on Pepper. She’d make a fuss…but when? He was no doctor but without any bandages and anything to clean his wound with, how long could he hold out against the fever? And what did the guys want him for anyway? Ransom?

And how had they gotten into the secured garage in the first place? His tower was state of the art, actually, even beyond state of the art when it came to security, so they couldn’t have lain in wait for him unless someone had let them in. And how had they known he would be there when even he hadn’t known he was going to head for the parking lot?

Questions over questions, making his head hurt even more. Maybe once they told him what they wanted him for, he could figure out who had betrayed him and then at least he could pass his time by coming up with an appropriate method for his revenge.

“Do you want me to blow them up?” Loki’s voice had Tony squawking, nearly causing his heart, and arc reactor included, to jump out of chest.

When the dark haired maybe-ex-villain came into view, Tony could’ve cried.

“What are you doing here?” he asked instead.

“Rescuing your ass?” Loki asked, tilting his head sideways. “Unless you enjoy bleeding to death in this brilliant establishment…if this is what you want, just say so and I’ll be on my merry way.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Tony gritted out through clenched teeth. “Help me up?” He asked, holding out his good hand. 

Loki’s fingers, despite being slender and finely boned, were strong and seconds later, Tony was wobbling on his feet.

“Can I roast them over a pit?” Loki asked him. “I’ve always wondered if it was actually possible to string up someone like a pig…” then he shrugged. “I’ve got no intention of actually trying to eat them but the idea alone…well, it has some merits don’t you think?”

“I prefer ants,” Tony declared. “Stuff them into the ground among flesh eating ants and watch them slowly being devoured. It has the added bonus of not being a fire hazard and you could actually still question them. If you roast them, you have to run a spear through them and I don’t think they’ll be up for answering any questions then…do you?”

“Good idea!” Loki almost agreed too easily and too cheerfully and maybe if Tony had been firing on all cylinders, he’d be worried about it but everything was kind of swaying around him so all he was really concerned with a the moment was staying upright.

 _Strike that_ , he thought, since he was slowly falling sideways. Upright was no longer an option after all. Was overrated anyway…

“Easy there,” Loki almost whispered, catching him before he landed on his ass again.

“Not a damsel in distress,” Tony complained as he was lifted up and held in the Trickster’s arms bridal style.

“Don’t give me any ideas,” Loki teased. “I think you would look dashing in red lace…”

Tony shivered. Not only from outrage at the idea but also because he was very, very cold.

“Leave them to me,” Loki’s voice barely registered on Tony’s mind as he was slowly drifting off again. “I’ll take care of them for you. Consider it a present…”

“Hnbndhghghh…” Tony mumbled, not sure if he was thanking Loki, agreeing to whatever he had said or protesting. Maybe his mouth was moving on its own volition. Anything was possible at this stage.

##

_Bleeeehhhhh…Bleehhhhh…_

Tony’s eyes snapped open. Trying to sit up swiftly was a mistake since the room started spinning almost immediately. With a heartfelt groan, he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting to get his laboured breathing under control.

Where was he?

“Here,” Loki appeared out of nowhere and when he sat down, the bed slowly dipped sideways. “Drink this.”

“What is it?” Tony demanded to know, managing to get one eye open.

“It’ll help…I think…”

“You think?” Tony’s second eyes snapped open.

Loki shrugged. “Healing isn’t my speciality and it’s not as if the herbs are the same here as on Asgard. But this healing potion should help you. The bullet went right through your shoulder so at least I didn’t have to magic it out. You lost a lot of blood so once you’re done with this healing potion, I’ve got another one which is supposed to help your body restore what you’ve lost.”

“Supposed?” Tony’s confidence wasn’t growing here.

Loki now looked put out. “If you don’t want my help…” he said, moving the mug away from Tony’s face who quickly shook his head.

“No, give it here,” he said, shuffling into a sitting position so he could drink it better. Loki’s smile was barely there but it was sincere, making him look years younger.

Tony knew enough about medicine not to try and sniff it because even cough syrup smelled atrocious and he if he got one whiff of whatever this dark, steaming thing smelled like, he would probably never drink it.

He raised the mug, slowly lifting it to his lips. When the first few drops landed on his tongue, he coughed, trying to spit them back out but Loki pressed at the mug, forcing the rest of the potion down his throat. When nothing was left, Tony gagged, sending a heated glare towards the man.

“I only have the one,” Loki explained. “If you had spit it out, you would’ve had to deal with the fever all by yourself…did you want that?”

Tony’s glare didn’t lessen.

“Why am I here?” He asked. “You could’ve dropped me off at a hospital like a normal person.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Loki answered, green eyes ablaze and narrowed. “You would’ve been dead within hours.”

“Huh?”

“Drink the second potion and then I’ll explain.” He held out yet another mug and despite wanting to gag some more, Tony took it. This time he drank it all by himself because damn it, he really hated feeling this pathetic.

“Your ants came in quite handy,” Loki continued to say. “The men became very chatty quickly…”

Tony coughed. “You didn’t really…seriously?” he asked, eyes wide. Was it really bad of him that he actually wanted to know how long it had taken for the men to give in? How it had looked? While he’d been held in the cave, he had ample time to imagine what he would do to his captors once he got free and the ant dream had been one of his favourites. Of course, he would’ve probably never tested it himself but Loki, of course, didn’t have such hold ups.

“It was a good idea,” Loki smiled approvingly. “I am surprised I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Err…” Tony decided for his own sake and for his peace of mind to let it go. What was done, was done. And he couldn’t be held responsible for what his feverish mind had spit out, right? It wasn’t as if he had _asked_ Loki to use the ants. Besides, without him, he would’ve roasted those men…errr…would this have been any better? Probably, not…

He coughed once he finished the second potion, allowing gravity to pull him back down so his head could rest on a comfortable pillow.

“So why aren’t in a hospital then?” he asked. There must be a very good reason for it, he was sure.

“Because,” Loki answered, voice grave. “You’ve got a traitor among your people and if I had dropped you off at a hospital, they would’ve gotten to you eventually.”

Tony had suspected as much but it still pained him to hear the words out loud.

“Who?” he asked, mentally reciting any name he could think of but not really coming up with any reason why anyone would hate him this much to kill him. Well, he had to amend the statement a tiny bit. There were lots of people who wanted him dead for selling weapons and various other reasons, like being an ass most of the times, but he wasn’t in a habit of letting _those_ people waltz into his tower and get the security access they needed to ambush him.

This fact alone narrowed the suspect list down quite a bit.

Or not…since the two names Loki uttered made no sense to him at all.

“Who?” he asked again, scrunching up his nose. Thinking shouldn’t be this hard, right?

Loki shrugged, a gesture which shouldn’t look so endearing but it still did.

“Wait…” Tony narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”

Loki gave him a harmless look which Tony would’ve never bought even if he hadn’t known who he was talking to.

“Fine,” Loki actually huffed. “I persuaded the men to tell me all they knew, which wasn’t much, and then I dropped them off at your mansion gift wrapped.”

“You did _what_?”

“I bound them together, put red wrapping paper around them and added one of those frilly things which seems to be on all your presents, and then I dropped them off in your main lounge with a note attached to them.”

“So you didn’t use the ants after all?”

“Of course I did!” Loki protested. “The idea was too good to pass up on but if they had ended up dead, then how was I supposed to get your fellow comrades to clean up the mess? I don’t think they would’ve taken my word for it…”

Tony gaped. “So you made them think they were being devoured by ants…”

“Didn’t I just say that?”

“Heh!” Tony exclaimed. “Genius! Imagine what you could get away with!”

“So those two names they gave me mean nothing to you?”

“No,” Tony admitted. “At least I can take comfort in the fact that no one I actually knew wanted me dead, right? They did want me dead?”

Tony was getting confused again. It usually wasn’t this hard to keep his thoughts ordered. Wait, hadn’t he gotten hit in the head?

“They hard orders to grab you, contain you and then torture you until they could arrive…”

“Ah…” Tony muttered. “Some sort of revenge then…”

“Looks like it…”

Silence followed until: _bleeeehhhh bleeeehhh_.

“What the hell?”

“The sheep are back,” Loki said in a desolate tone of voice which had Tony’s head snapping back towards the green-eyed man.

“What?” he asked incredulously. “I thought you defeated the grand sheep leader or something?”

“I did,” Loki countered. “But either he got disposed or this is a new herd because the lead sheep isn’t among them…”

“You can tell them apart?”

“You can’t?”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Err…”

“Go to sleep,” Loki instructed, pushing him back down. “By the time you wake up, the fever should be gone and the wound should have mostly healed itself up. I can’t do anything about the scaring but you should be fine to move around then…”

Tony was about to protested. He wasn’t a child which needed to be put to bed but the moment Loki pushed his head onto the pillow, his eyes fluttered shut and then he’d fallen asleep despite his internal flailing.

##

He woke up to ranting and cursing. He couldn’t understand what was being said but the tone said it all.

Forcing his eyes open, he looked around, slowly sitting up before testing his feet. He felt good. Sure, there was a light twinge in his right shoulder and he wouldn’t probably be able to lift anything heavy any time soon but after having gotten shot not too long ago, he was practically a new man!

He was a little bit dizzy when he managed to get onto his two feet but Loki’s clear voice muttering what possibly were obscenities had him too curious to stay in bed.

This was the first time he actually took a closer look at his surroundings. The bed was comfortable but it wasn’t really more than a small cot. The hut he was in contained only one room and the roof looked as if it had seen better days. When he squinted, he could see some shimmering there so he guessed Loki was using his magic to keep the weather out.

The floor wasn’t necessarily dirty but it wasn’t clean either. The fire place held a crackling fire and next to it was a wooden work bench with several chars and pots. Dried flowers and herbs hung on the wall behind it and he figured, despite the very modest look of things, this was Loki’s current dwelling.

The door was ajar and he could see some faint sunlight streaming in from the window and from behind the door. Slowly, with careful steps he walked to the door, peaking outside.

Then his eyes widened.

Loki was standing amidst three sheep, wildly waving his hands about. One sheep was blaring at him while the other two simply stared at him as if the Trickster was the mots fascinating thing they had ever seen.

Tony snickered. Loki had acquired fans!

“This isn’t funny!” Loki shouted, reeling around to face him.

One sheep gathered up his courage and inched closer, putting his head underneath Loki’s fingers, begging for a scratch.

“They like you!” Tony sing-songed in his best imitation of a five year old girl. “They like you!” he repeated.

“I don’t know what you are talking about…” Loki protested but Tony was already doubling over with laughter, slowly sinking to the ground.

The sun vanished when Loki came to stop before him, face thunderous. He hauled Tony upwards, pushing him back against the nearby wall. The growl might’ve intimidated him a few weeks ago but after seeing Loki actually interact with his fan club, well, Tony couldn’t do more than shake in laughter.

His laughter died an abrupt death when chopped lips were suddenly pressed to his own. Startled, he gasped, eyes going wide.

Loki didn’t slow down and before Tony could process what was happening, he’d already gripped Loki’s hips, closing any distance that might’ve been between them.

He groaned into the kiss, nipping at the other man’s lower lip before plunging his tongue into the Trickster’s sweet mouth. Foul language might’ve only recently fallen off his lips but there was no trace of it on his tongue. Loki tasted sweet, like honey and sugar, and if it wasn’t the most intoxicating thing he’d tasted in a long time…well, then Tony would no longer be called Tony Stark.

He shoved his hands underneath the thin shirt Loki was wearing, letting his fingers run up and down the smooth back. He itched for more contact, clothes really did get in the way of things.

“Bleeehhhh?”

They stopped, both heads slowly turning to look at their audience.

They sheep had surrounded them.

“Tony?” Loki’s voice held a little quiver which was so unlike the so called super villain that it had Tony’s heart constricting immediately. He grabbed the guy by the shoulders, manhandling him through the door.

“Hey!” he protested but Tony got this.

“Look,” he turned around, facing the curious sheep. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you but go and act like sheep…” He shooed at them which only got him more curious dark stares. Maybe Loki did have a point and those sheep were actually dangerous…”Grass…” he said, pointing again and then, for good measure, he got down onto his knees, grabbing some grass and pretended to eat it. “Hm…food…go eat!”

“Bleehhh…” One sheep said in his direction before it turned, heading away. A few seconds later, the other sheep followed.

Tony let out a sigh of relief. No wonder Loki had gone a bit nuts with the sheep since they were acting very peculiar!

Once he was through the door, there was a whoosh of air and then he found himself on his back on the bed, naked.

“What…?” he mumbled while Loki settled on top of him, equally naked.

The hunger displayed in the green eyes took Tony’s breath away, leaving him mesmerized.

Maybe he wasn’t as smart as he thought he was because during all their interaction, the thought of sex with Loki hadn’t occurred to him at all.

And yet, he wasn’t alarmed the slightest or worried or put off…if anything at all, he was more turned on than he had ever been before.

Loki was dangerous. He might not be a danger to him right now, he might’ve saved his life but when it came down it, the guy was as unpredictable as the weather or as destructive as fire. And Tony was hooked, like a fish…he couldn’t escape and wasn’t it sad how he didn’t even want to?

Loki paused, head tilted sideways, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his handsome face and to eliminate any of those thoughts, Tony reached out, grabbing him by the shoulders and hauling him down for yet another scorching kiss.

Loki laughed, their breath mingling and then, there were hands everywhere, teasing his flesh, coaxing him towards his climax and then…stilling it, dragging him away from the edge with skilled fingers bordering on cruelty.

“Loki,” he whined, begging for more and yet, he was denied.

Having someone skilled in magic as a bed partner came with many advantages including not needing lube or only needing a few words and then Tony could feel his body stretching as if fingers were massaging him open.

His eyes fluttered shut, his body arched and then Loki was inside him. They moved together in a rhythm set long before the dawn of time and this time, Loki plunged both of them over the edge at the same time.

When the came down from their fall, Loki crumbled on top of him, snuggling. He pushed his head under Tony’s chin and he might’ve heard purring.

There was a small smile on his face when he fell asleep.

##

When they woke up again, their love making was slower, more intimate with many lingering touches and kisses until there was no part of his body which hadn’t been touched or licked.

But Tony was nothing if not competitive, including in the bedroom, and more than once, he was able to reduce the mighty Loki to nothing but a quivering mass of flesh. This time around, he was able to take Loki to new heights, pushing in and out of the pliant body underneath him while his brain stuttered to a halt, unable to resume normal processes until this vital mission had been accomplished.

Falling the second time was almost painful, the release so white-hot, so brilliant it was as if he was being poked with hot sticks and yet, the comparison was totally wrong because the pleasure was so intense it almost shortened out his brain.

It was now Tony’s turn to burrow into Loki who snaked his arms around him, holding him as if he was the most precious thing he’d encountered in all his life.

How they’d gone from being enemies to lovers, Tony couldn’t fathom but he wouldn’t trade this turn of events for anything else.

##

A few days passed until Tony decided, it was time to resurface again. Loki didn’t look convinced but he understood hiding wasn’t going to solve any of their problems.

“You’re coming with me,” Tony declared.

Loki simply raised an eye brow.

“You are,” Tony insisted. “I refuse to give you up and I’m not going to do a long distance relationship with sex only maybe once a month. I’ve got _needs_.”

Loki chuckled but he wasn’t actually fighting Tony on it which told him the guy actually wanted to come home with him too.

“Can you teleport us back to my place?” Tony asked. “Wait…” he paused, “How did you find me anyway? How did you know something was wrong?”

“You’re only asking me this now?”

“Hey!” Tony protested in fake outrage. “My mind was otherwise occupied!”

This earned him a leer followed by a naughty smirk. He’d created a monster! How would he cope? With the usual coping mechanisms of course, involving a few toys he’d stashed away at home. When Tony returned the leer, Loki looked a bit alarmed. Score!

“Your phone was magically enhanced,” Loki finally answered the question. “When it was smashed, I was notified.”

Tony nodded. He’d already told Loki the events from his point of view but he’d been so distracted with the man’s wicked tongue and his always wandering hands that it hadn’t occurred to him to wonder how he’d managed to come to his rescue until now. Sex did addle the brains, even excellent brain matter like his own.

“And how you’d find me?”

“Tracking spell,” Loki shrugged. “You touched the sheep you sent me so I had something of yours to try and locate you. Took a little while, tracking spells aren’t easy and neither is teleporting into an unknown place but…”

“So you risked a lot to save me?”

“Maybe?”

Tony grabbed a hold of Loki, kissing his nose. When he pulled back, curious green eyes stared at him. Loki lifted a hand, using his finger to touch his nose. “Why did you kiss my nose?”

Tony shrugged. “I always thought it was nice to be kissed there…kind of sweet?”

Loki stared some more before he leaned in, returning the favour. Tony’s nose tingled and his smile was wide and honest, one of his rare ones, as Pepper would say.

Loki fidgeted with his clothes which was uncharacteristic of him. “If we leave now, we should be able to catch most of them at dinner,” Tony reassured him. “Unless they changed their habits…” he mumbled but either Loki didn’t hear him or he was ignoring him.

He clasped a hand onto Tony’s shoulders and then the air shimmered, giving way to a few seconds of darkness before Tony’s living room came into focus. He stumbled backwards, a bit disoriented before he turned, facing a few startled faces.

“Tony!” Steve shouted, jumping off the chair while at the same time, Thor bellowed, “Brother!”

How a big man like Thor managed to cross the obstacles in his path so quickly Tony didn’t know but only mere seconds passed before Loki was nearly hugged to death.

Steve was on his way towards him too but at a much slower pace, looking wary. Clint made as if to rise but Natasha put a hand on his arm, stalling his movements. The only one absent was Bruce.

“You alright?” Steve asked.

Tony nodded. “Loki saved me,” he pointed out, in case the key information had somewhat gotten lost.

“Not a minute has gone by where Thor didn’t point that out!” Clint shouted from the background.

“Really?” Tony turned to look at the blond warrior who was still busy mauling Loki. For some reason, Loki was hanging in there, awkwardly patting his brother’s back.

“I won’t apologize for shouting at you,” Steve said, drawing Tony back in but before the frown could settle on his face, Captain America continued. “But I am sorry for destroying something that belonged to you. Instead of accusing you straight away, I should’ve given you the chance to explain. Even if I disagree or dislike what I hear, I shouldn’t have taken the chance away from you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony brushed the apology away. He’d already gotten over what Steve had done. Like the blond guy had said, he hadn’t done it on purpose and for someone with such a strict moral code, Tony probably should consider himself lucky he hadn’t gotten bashed in the head straight away.

“Fury though is furious,” Steve continued. “He’s trying to get you off the team.”

“Don’t worry,” Clint was shouting again. “Not happening. Where would we live? Who would pay for all our gadgets? I don’t think Fury would like to be responsible for our expenses, do you?”

“Wait…” Tony’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t aware I was paying for your expenses…”

Clint looked shifty now.

“Maybe you should talk to Pepper?” Natasha offered and Tony vowed to do exactly that. 

“Look, guys,” Tony brought the talk back to a more important subject. “Can someone now tell me why those two were trying to kill me? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Natasha explained from the distant table. “But one of your weapons was used in an attack which killed their elder brother and their only family and they held you personally responsible.”

“Eh?” Tony asked, dumbfounded. Sure, he used to make weapons. While he didn’t pull the triggers himself, he couldn’t deny being responsible for how they had been used but wasn’t this taking it a bit too far? He wasn’t the only one who was, or had been, in the arms trade and he was pretty certain someone had to actually point and shoot. The weapon didn’t fire itself after all!

“There's a history of mental illness in the family,” Natasha went on to say. “They were hired long before the new security measures were in place and apparently, no one thought to check the already existing staff. So their fake names were never run through any checks while they still had all the access the needed. Lars worked in security, so he had access to hall monitors. The team must’ve been on standby in the building and when he saw you leave, he radioed your position to them. His sister, Monika, managed to get a low level job with Shield once you started getting involved with them…”

“I thought they would at least run better background checks?” Tony asked.

Natasha shrugged. “Apparently not so much.”

“Fury is pretty pissed off about that. I think he’s trying to blame you for accidentally pointing out a failure in his organisation. He’s been ranting about all the money he’ll have to spend on doing check ups on everyone on payroll. He’s not a happy man.”

“He’s never happy,” Tony grumbled.

“Under the threat of causing a diplomatic incident with Asgard,” Thor changed the subject since apparently he’d finally managed to extract himself from Loki. A quick glance at the green-eyed man showed his relief. “He’s agreed to bow by my father’s ruling in regards to Loki’s crimes.”

Both he and Loki cringed. Tony had hoped to avoid this but he’d known it had been unavoidable. Loki had after all tried to invade the planet and there were still issues at home he had to work through.

“But once this is done, he can come back without having to worry about Fury trying to arrest him?” Tony inquired.

Thor nodded, almost too eagerly. “Yes. Unless he…”

Loki stepped on Thor’s foot which shut the big guy up rather quickly. Tony smirked, finding the sibling interaction hilarious.

“I’ll come back,” Loki walked towards Tony, eyes sincere.

“I know,” Tony answered, a soft smile on his lips. “And when you do, I’ll make sure to present you with stew.”

“Stew?”

“Yes,” Tony laughed. “Proper stew with mutton.”

“Mutton?”

“Yes,” Tony cracked up. “Sheep.”

Loki’s grin was all he really needed to make his day and in the upcoming days of waiting for him to return, it would warm his nights.

##

A week passed and Tony was asleep when a strange sound startled him away. Sitting up in bed, he blinked, adjusting to the lights Jarvis had automatically turned on when he had moved.

“Jarvis?” he slurred, speech still heavy with sleep.

“You have a visitor,” his AI informed him.

Tony blinked. “In the middle of the night?”

He rolled over, slowly getting out of bed. When his feet met the floor, fabric stretched strangely across his chest and across his groin.

“What the…?” he mumbled. Hadn’t he gone to bed in the nude?

“I told you, you would look amazing in red lace,” Loki drawled and when Tony’s head snapped up, seeing him casually leaning against the door frame, Tony reached down, fingers finding what he’d been saving for just this occasion.

“Welcome home,” Tony announced, flinging a sheep dressed in black sexy wear at his lover’s head.

The answering squawk was music for his ears. 

It was only then he finally looked down that understanding spread across his face.

“Loki!” he shouted in outrage, tearing at the racy outfit the guy had put him. “Come back here!”

Pearls of laughter were the only answer he got.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at Avengers fic. Thanks so much for all the kudos and the lovely comments. You guys made me all smile! I shall be back with a new story soon because once I get started, I usually can't stop. Sorry for the sheep insanity but it was only a matter of time because those freaking sheep are everywhere!


End file.
